Swansea City avoided the ignominy of becoming an FA Cup third-round scalp – and the inconvenience of a replay – after holding off a spirited Barnsley fightback at Oakwell.

A brace of goals from Danny Graham, including a stunning 30-yard strike, helped the Swans progress into the fourth round.

His second, scored in the 90th minute, made the game secure after a spirited Barnsley revival which for a while threatened to derail the Swans’ hopes of automatically progressing into the next round.

Boss Brendan Rodgers set out his intent from the start by naming a strong-looking team, when many believed he would put out fringe players to prioritise the Premier campaign in 2012.

Instead, Rodgers made only two changes to the side who had so splendidly triumphed at Aston Villa, with Gerhard Tremmel and Gary Monk coming in respectively for Michel Vorm and the on-loan Spurs ace Stephen Caulker.

After starting such a strong XI, underlining his commitment to the competition, Rodgers would have been disappointed with the off-colour start his side made against their Championship opponents.

And when Ricardo Vaz Te fired the hosts in front the Swans manager may well have wondered if his trip to a blustery South Yorkshire would derail the boom factor created by strong performances against Villa and Tottenham over the festive period.

Fortunately, the Swans responded to the setback with a goal of their own inside a minute of conceding.

They then netted a quickfire double after the break to go 3-1 up and, despite another fromVaz Te to narrow the deficit, Graham made sure of a 4-2 triumph.

The game had begun in inauspicious fashion with the two teams each enjoying time on the ball and not really being put under any pressure.

At that point, and with the league a higher priority for both clubs, there was no indication of what a third-round cracker this would eventually turn out to be.

It was Kemy Agustien who injected impetus into the Welsh side after finding space in the centre of the pitch and unleashing a fierce 30-yard drive which was beaten away by Luke Steele in the Barnsley goal.

That effort seemed to inspire Augustien’s team-mates and the Swans should have taken the lead shortly after when Andrea Orlandi played Routledge in behind the Barnsley defence with a beautifully-weighted through ball.

Having easily outstripped defender Hassell, and with only Steele to beat, Routledge then took one touch too many, enabling Steele to be practically on top of him before he could get his shot away.

Despite that chance there was still a flat note to the flagship day for football’s oldest club competition – until a sudden two-goal burst really helped the game take off.

When Welshman Craig Davies was clattered from behind by Neil Taylor in the middle of the pitch, the ball broke for Vaz Te, who found only a retreating Garry Monk between himself and the goal.

Fresh from a New Year’s Eve hat-trick versus Leeds, Vaz Te shifted the ball to the right before sending a powerful shot past Tremmel and into the back of the Swansea net.

The home fans’ joy lasted barely 60 seconds. Almost as soon as they took their seats again following their celebrations, they were witnessing Swansea putting the ball in the net themselves.

Barnsley captain David Perkins presented the ball to the industrious Nathan Dyer who played in Rangel in acres of space in the box.

The Spaniard took his time before calmly placing the ball beyond Steele into the corner of the net, a finish which showed the sort of composure normally associated with a seasoned striker.

It was Rangel’s first goal of the season – a timely moment to break his duck.

After the break the Swans came out flying, again hitting the home side with a sucker punch within a minute of the restart.

Monk fed Graham who turned 30 yards out and sent a stunning strike high over the dive of a despairing Steele.

It was further proof of the credentials of the Middlesbrough youth product who has bagged eight goals for the season since moving to the Liberty Stadium.

Swansea looked to have well and truly wrapped up a satisfactory trip on 54 minutes when quick feet by Routledge on the left saw him leave Hassell standing before squaring for Dyer who side-footed home to make it 3-1.

Rodgers saw this an opportunity to give a first run-out to Gylfi Sigurdsson who came on for his debut after signing a six-month loan from Bundesliga outfit Hoffenheim.

But the Swans were forced into a rearguard action when a clumsy challenge from Taylor on Wiseman, which saw him booked, enabled Danny Drinkwater a chance to deliver a low free-kick across the box.

Swansea’s defence went walkabout and Vaz Te was left alone to claim his second goal of the game after 65 minutes.

His effort ensured the Swans were forced to endure an uncomfortable final half-hour and withstand a barrage of balls in the box under the floodlights.

But, after dealing with everything that was thrown at them, Swansea broke away to ensure the game was theirs with a fourth goal.

Routledge crossed and Graham slid the ball home, meaning Swansea could look forward to seeing their name in the hat for the fourth round draw.